Manufacturing equipment of various types (e.g., robots, conveyor belts, rapid manufacturing automated assembly, mechanical presses) have the potential to cause injury to personnel. The manufacturing equipment may be operated by electrical actuators, hydraulic actuators, or pneumatic actuators. The actuations performed by the manufacturing equipment during operations may cause injury to workers.
To promote safety around such manufacturing equipment, various safety systems may be used. Various techniques may be used by the safety systems. A safety system may monitor an area around manufacturing equipment. Another safety system may monitor object elevations from the floor with respect to manufacturing equipment to determine a safety condition for operating the manufacturing equipment. For example, a detection system may be installed to detect whether an object or person enters a potentially dangerous area.
Safety systems use a variety of operating principles to provide protection. Some safety systems may use pressure mats to detect whether a person or object is at a specific location. Optical detection systems may use light to detect the presence of a person or an object.